[Adopted 11-9-1999 by Bill No. 99-147]
This article is adopted under MGL c. 40, § 15C
(the "Scenic Roads Act") to protect and maintain the scenic beauty,
aesthetic value and historic significance of certain designated scenic
roads in the Town of Amesbury. The administrative procedures and functions
assigned to various City agencies are so assigned pursuant to Section
6-1 of the 1996 Amesbury Home Rule Charter.
For the purposes of this article, these terms
shall have the following meanings:
The Amesbury Planning Board established by Section 4-4 of
the 1996 Amesbury Home Rule Charter.
The 1996 Amesbury Home Rule Charter, or any successor Charter.
Includes any individual, organization, business, corporate
entity or governmental agency involved in any activity prohibited
or restricted by this article.
Includes any such work done within the right-of-way by any
person or agency, public or private, including the construction or
alteration of the portion of private driveways within the right-of-way.
A vehicular-traveled way plus its necessary appurtenances
within the right-of-way, including bridge structures, drainage system,
retaining walls, traffic control devices, and sidewalks, but not intersecting
streets or driveways.
The tearing down, destruction, burial or relocation of more
than five linear feet of any stone or brick wall, any type of retaining
wall, or any hillside, berm or mound of earth which rises more than
a foot above the existing road grade; provided, however, that this
term shall not be construed to include the repair of such walls or
earthen mounds, and further provided that this term shall not include
the temporary removal, and timely replacement at the same location
with the same materials, of such walls or earthen mounds.
The Amesbury Traffic and Transportation Commission or any
successor agency of the City.
A.
For the purposes of this article and the implementation
of the Scenic Roads Act, the Traffic Commission shall act as the City
Planning Board and shall exercise all powers and responsibilities
authorized to planning boards by MGL c. 40, § 15C. The Traffic
Commission shall have full authority to hold public hearings and to
issue or deny such written consent as necessary for the proper implementation
of this article and the Scenic Roads Act and for the public interest.
Except as otherwise authorized by this article, such written consent
shall be issued or denied by the Traffic Commission only after the
completion of all public hearings required by this article and the
Scenic Roads Act and only upon a vote by the majority of Traffic Commission
members then in office.
B.
For the purposes of this article and the implementation
of the Scenic Roads Act, the Amesbury Planning Board established by
Section 4-4 of the Charter shall have only those duties and powers
expressly authorized by this article.
C.
All action taken by joint meetings of the Planning
Board and Traffic Commission shall be subject to approval of the Municipal
Council which may be by administrative approval.
A.
Procedure. Any resident or group of residents, at least one of whom shall reside on the recommended street or streets, may appear before the Traffic Commission, the Amesbury Planning Board, or the Historical Commission to request the recommendation of their street or road to be designated as a scenic road. Prior to making such recommendation, the Board or Commission shall hold a public hearing thereon, duly advertised according to the Scenic Roads Act and the established procedures of that Board or Commission, also noting the date, time and place of a site visit, if one is to be held. Such recommendation shall then be forwarded to the Municipal Council for consideration at its next scheduled meeting. Scenic road designation shall be made by a majority vote of the full membership of the Municipal Council or as a matter of free petition pursuant to Section 8-1 of the Charter.
B.
Considerations. The following shall be considered
in any recommendation or determination of whether a street or road
shall be designated a scenic road:
(1)
Historic significance of affected trees and walls.
(2)
Exceptional qualities of trees in terms of age, spread,
species or specimen size.
(3)
Bordering land uses, present and prospective, and
how they impact the importance of retaining trees and walls.
(4)
Feasibility of accomplishing the intent of the Scenic
Roads Act in light of road design and use.
C.
Designated roads. The following are designated as
scenic roads:
A.
Actions prohibited without prior written consent.
No person shall participate in any way in the cutting or removal of
trees, or the tearing down or destruction of stone walls, within or
along the right-of-way of any designated scenic road without first
obtaining the written consent of the Traffic Commission.
B.
Determination of applicability. Upon the request of
any person or organization proposing to perform any work within the
right-of-way of any designated scenic road, the Traffic Commission
shall issue a determination of whether the scope of work proposed
will involve or include the cutting or removal of trees or the tearing
down or destruction of stone walls, such that, under this article
and the Scenic Roads Act, the consent of the Traffic Commission must
be obtained prior to such work being performed. The Traffic Commission
shall hold a public hearing on the matter within 30 days from the
date on which a request for such determination is received by the
City Clerk, unless a longer time is agreed to by the applicant, and
shall timely issue its determination by written notice to the City
Clerk, who shall send a copy of such notice to the applicant. If the
Traffic Commission determines that the scope of work proposed does
involve or include the cutting or removal of trees or the tearing
down or destruction of stone walls, the Traffic Commission's consent
to such work must be separately obtained before any such work is commenced.
If the Traffic Commission determines that the scope of work proposed
does not involve or include the cutting or removal of trees or the
tearing down or destruction of stone walls, such determination shall
be limited to the scope of work considered by the Traffic Commission
and shall not apply to any modifications or changes to that scope
of work.
C.
Filing of request for consent. Any person or organization
seeking the written consent of the Traffic Commission regarding any
repair, maintenance, reconstruction or paving work to be done within
the right-of-way of any designated scenic road in connection with
repair, maintenance, reconstruction or paving work on any designated
scenic road shall submit to the Traffic Commission a request seeking
such consent, together with the following:
(1)
The text of a legal notice identifying the location
of the proposed action, in terms which will enable readers to reasonably
identify the proposed site of such work without requiring reference
to any documents other than a street map, and also describing the
proposed changes to trees, walls and earthen mounds;
(2)
A list of the owners of any land which is both abutting
the affected street and located in whole or in part within 300 feet
of the affected section;
(3)
Except in the case of City agencies, a deposit sufficient
for the cost of publishing the legal notice; and
(4)
A plan and explanatory material describing the proposed
action, together with any restoration or compensatory efforts proposed,
and a proposed performance security bond.
D.
Notice. The Traffic Commission shall give notice of
the public hearing, as required by statute, by twice advertising in
a newspaper of general circulation in the area, the last time at least
seven days prior to the hearing. The applicant shall, at least seven
days prior to the hearing, send copies of the legal notice to the
Mayor, the Municipal Council, the Conservation Commission, the Historical
Commission, the Tree Board, the Director of Public Works, and all
owners of property identified at Subsection A(2) above.[1]
E.
Relationship to other agencies and authorities. Whenever
feasible, the Traffic Commission shall hold its public hearings in
conjunction with hearings held by the Tree Board, pursuant to MGL
c. 87, and in conjunction with hearings held by the Amesbury Planning
Board, pursuant to its authority to approve curb cuts. The consent
of the Traffic Commission to any proposed action shall not imply the
consent to, nor the review of, that action by the Tree Board or the
Amesbury Planning Board. The consent of the Tree Board or the Amesbury
Planning Board to any action shall not imply the consent to, nor the
review of, that action by the Traffic Commission.
F.
Timing. The Traffic Commission shall hold its hearing
within 30 days from the date on which a request for consent is received
by the City Clerk and shall make a decision on whether to issue such
consent within 45 days of the City Clerk's receipt of the request,
unless a longer time is agreed to by the applicant. Consent shall
be issued or denied by written notice to be filed with the City Clerk,
who shall send a copy of such notice to the applicant. Failure of
the Traffic Commission to file such notice with the City Clerk within
the time allotted shall be deemed constructive approval of the request
for consent.
G.
Decisions. Any written consent issued by the Traffic Commission shall contain a condition that no work shall be done until all applicable provisions of the Public Shade Tree Law, MGL c. 87, and Chapter 427, Trees, of this Code have been complied with.
H.
Emergency work. When an emergency, as defined in the Charter, Section 9-4b, when necessary to protect the public health, public or private property or public safety, is declared, the provision of Subsections A to F of this section are temporarily suspended. The Chairman of the Traffic Commission shall be notified of the emergency declaration within 48 hours. The Chairman shall immediately notify all Traffic Commission members of any and all such emergency actions, both by telephone and by mail. Such emergency actions shall remain valid only until the next meeting of the Traffic Commission, at which meeting said actions shall be subject to approval by a majority of those members present. If, at said meeting, the Traffic Commission fails to approve the Chairman's emergency actions, such consent shall be deemed withdrawn, and further cutting or removal of trees or tearing down or destruction of stone walls shall be prohibited, unless and until further consent is obtained from the full Traffic Commission pursuant to the provisions of this article.
In acting on scenic road alteration proposals,
the Traffic Commission shall take into consideration the following:
A.
Preservation of natural resources;
B.
Environmental and historical values;
C.
Scenic and esthetic characteristics;
D.
Public safety;
E.
Traffic volume and congestion;
F.
Relationship of road design to the standards of the
Amesbury Planning Board's Subdivision Regulations and to the standards
of the Massachusetts Highway Department;
G.
Compensatory actions proposed, such as replacement
trees or walls;
H.
Functional urgency of the repair, maintenance, reconstruction
or paving;
I.
Financial and other consequences of design revision
to avoid or reduce damage to trees or stone walls;
J.
Evidence contributed by abutters, City agencies and
other interested parties;
K.
Availability of reasonable and less damaging alternatives
to the proposed action; and
L.
Any other traffic planning considerations.
A.
In deciding whether to grant consent, the Traffic
Commission may consider compensatory actions such as the planting
of new trees or the reconstruction of walls. If the overall effect
of the proposed alteration, including compensatory action, is to maintain
the scenic quality and character of the road, the Traffic Commission
may grant approval that otherwise would be denied.
B.
Not less than the following shall normally be considered
adequate compensatory action:
(1)
Trees destroyed shall be replaced with nursery-grade
trees on the following basis (trees measured four feet above ground):
(a)
Each tree of up to 12 inches in diameter which
is cut or removed shall be replaced with one tree of at least four
inches in diameter.
(b)
Each tree of 12 inches to 24 inches in diameter
which is cut or removed shall be replaced with three trees of at least
four inches in diameter.
(c)
Each tree of over 24 inches in diameter which
is cut or removed shall be replaced with four trees of at least four
inches in diameter.
(2)
Replacement trees shall be planted under the supervision
of the Tree Board and shall be planted as soon as construction activity
and the season permit, but in any event within nine months of the
removal of a tree, unless a longer period is authorized by the Traffic
Commission.
(3)
Stone walls shall be replaced in kind on a new alignment,
connecting with undisturbed walls wherever possible.
This article shall be enforced through noncriminal disposition under the provisions of Chapter 1, Article I, of this Code by the Building Commissioner and officers of the Amesbury Police Department. Violation of this article shall be punished by a fine of $300, with each day that the violation continues considered a separate offense.
To the extent that any provisions of this article
conflict with any other City ordinance or bylaw, the provisions of
this article shall prevail.
